Chris Jericho used TNA Wrestling as leverage to secure a better offer from WWE in 2007
During a Dark Side of the Ring Q&A in New York, Chris Jericho was asked whether he ever considered signing with TNA Wrestling. Jericho recalled using perceived interest from TNA as leverage during WWE contract negotiations, saying it helped him secure a better offer from Vince McMahon…
“We met at the Cheesecake Factory in Tampa, Florida. I was talking about going back to WWE. I’d been off for a couple of years. I think this was around 2007. At the time, Vince [McMahon] had the magic number for a salary. I won’t say what that number was, but it was the highest you could get, no matter who you were.
At that time, if you headlined and were a main eventer, you would make more money and so on, but there was a certain base number he wasn’t coming close to. I thought, ‘Well, let me see if I can arrange a meeting with Double J and have a conversation with TNA and see what happens.'”
My cousin was in town at the time, and I said, ‘Just go sit over there and comment on what you see. And here’s the email address of someone in the wrestling dirt sheet world who might be interested in what you see.’
I’m not saying I wasn’t entertaining the idea, but two days later, guess who came back with the magic number?”